Building management or automation systems encompass a wide variety of systems that aid in the monitoring and control of various aspects of building operation. Building automation systems include security systems, fire safety systems, lighting systems, and HVAC systems. The elements of a building automation system are widely dispersed throughout a facility. For example, an HVAC system may include temperature sensors and ventilation damper controls, as well as other elements that are located in virtually every area of a facility. Similarly, a security system may have intrusion detection, motion sensors, and alarm actuators dispersed throughout an entire building or campus. Fire safety systems also include widely dispersed devices in the form of smoke alarms, pull stations, and controllers. These building automation systems typically have one or more centralized control stations from which system data may be monitored and various aspects of system operation may be controlled and/or monitored.
Building automation systems may include vast numbers of devices and control points that may be communicated with, monitored, and controlled. The devices within building automation systems may communicate using one or more open or closed protocols. One example of an open protocol is the building automation and controls network (BACnet) communications protocol. The BACnet protocol allows for communication in building automation and control systems for HVAC, lighting, security and safety system applications.
However, given that BACnet is an open protocol, BACnet may lack design and sophistication in a number of monitoring and control applications. For example, BACnet may not include enhanced alarming capabilities that may be available on one or more other closed protocols.